


By a String

by IWroteAFic



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Anxiety, Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Spoilers, Protective Yuri Plisetsky, Yuri stop pretending that you don't care, just a short fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 19:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9008593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWroteAFic/pseuds/IWroteAFic
Summary: Katsuki looks like he might break at any moment, so Yuri keeps his mouth shut. (Yuri Plisetsky gets a taste of Yuuri Katsuki’s anxiety and he’s not sure how to handle it.)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [【授權翻譯】如懸一線](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10690248) by [Susant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Susant/pseuds/Susant)



 

Yuuri Katsuki was an infuriating person to have as a rival.

 

For one thing, He didn’t quite understand smack talk. That stupid pork cutlet bowl accepted all of Yuri’s insults with either a smile or a contemplative look. _What the hell, man? Get angry! Get riled up!_

 

In fact, he never once insulted Yuri back or even attempted to defend himself. Yuri found the need to insult him becoming less potent as their time together increased. _Not_ because Yuri felt guilty, mind you, but because Katsudon _clearly_ didn’t get it. Yuri’s words just ended up accumulating into whatever mess was already bouncing around in that Katsudon’s head.

 

And Yuri, _absolutely_ , was not starting to feel guilty.

 

He _wasn’t_.

 

It’s not his fault that Japanese Yuuri turned out to be such a tender snowflake. How can someone with such an intense free program, someone who could beat Victor Nikiforov’s free skate _world record_ , be so… _so_ …

 

Yuri isn’t quite sure how to describe it, because he isn’t sure what causes it in the first place. Usually Katsudon comes to train with that dopey smile on his face and he chats with the other Russian skaters, acts disgustingly romantic with Victor, practices his usual jumps and spins, but some days-

 

Well, _today_ , specifically.

 

He walks in, Victor and that poodle in right behind him, and he looks…

 

 _Devastated_.

 

Is that the right word? Because Katsudon definitely looks like his whole family was just murdered and he’s trying everything in his power to keep from having an emotional break down.

 

Well, maybe not _that_ dramatic. Still, he looks _terrible_.

 

Yuri stops his short program practice just to stare as Victor leads Japanese Yuuri with a hand on his back and a smile that was _too_ gentle. It looked weird on his face.

 _Did something happen?_ They weren’t even supposed to _be_ here today.

 

The usually friendly Katsudon doesn’t look up at anyone, doesn’t stop for a greeting. He steps onto the ice as soon as he can get his skates tied, and he’s gliding forward like a fish being released into the ocean. The tension melts from his stiff body and he’s making slow loops, switching feet in a careful pattern. His dark hair has grown longer since moving to Russian and he takes advantage by keeping his head bowed and hiding behind his bangs. Yuri can still see his expression, though. He looks like he’s holding on by a _string_.

 

This is usually the part where Yuri would skate up next to him and shove him a bit, maybe throw a quick jab, _hey pig!_ Or _, Don’t get too excited, Pork Cutlet Bowl!_

But right now, Katsuki looks like he might break at any moment, so Yuri keeps his mouth shut.

 

_What happened?_

Yakov’s shouting voice snaps Yuri’s attention away and he hurries to complete his routine, ignoring the way Mila snickers about him ‘slacking off’.

 

He finds his eyes trailing back towards Katsuki more than he’d like to admit. It was hard to look away from something that was constantly teetering on the edge. He didn’t know what he was expecting to happen. Would the other boy fall? Scream? Cry?

 

He’s watched other skaters have breakdowns before, but this felt different. It wasn’t like driving by a car crash and wanting to see the extent of the damage. Yuri was feeling a rush of panic. He felt like he needed to _stop_ it.

 

As soon as Yakov’s attention was directed elsewhere, Yuri skated towards Victor and glared at him accusingly.

 

Victor wasn’t on the ice today, with made the situation even more unusual. He was just leaning against the wall of the ice rink, back too straight, smile too tight. His eyes were tracking his fiancé’s movements with so much focus that Yuri hesitated to break it.

 

Then, Yuri decided he didn’t give a _fuck_ and skidded to an obnoxious halt right in front of Victor’s face, shooting ice in every direction.

 

He leered at Victor and gritted his teeth in anger when the man simply sidestepped so he could keep watching his precious piggy.

 

 _What did you do to him?_ Yuri thought.

 

“Did you two have a fight, or something?” Is what he actually said.

 

Victor’s weird smile grew, as if he was expecting Yuri to say exactly _that_.

 

“I _wish_.” Victor replied with an easy shrug.

 

Yuri stared at him.

 

“What the hell does that mean?” He asked, genuinely confused.

 

Victor finally looked away from the mindless loop-skating and observed Yuri with a soft smile.

“Yuuri just… _gets_ like this sometimes. It’s nothing you need to worry about, Yurio. He’ll be fine.”

 

“Nothing… _happened_?”

 

“Nothing out of the ordinary. He just woke up like this.”

 

Victor paused and brought a hand to his face thoughtfully. “Skating usually calms him down so we came as soon as we could. It’s not as quiet as Hasetsu but at least there’s plenty of room.”

 

“…”

 

Yuri continued gaping at Victor, his eyes darting back to Katsuki in confusion. He didn’t believe it. Something _had_ to have happened. People can’t just _wake up_ like that…can they?

 

“Shouldn’t you be doing something?” Yuri asked after a beat of silence.

 

Victor and Katsudon were practically married. For two people who supposedly loved each other and all that, they seemed to be on different wavelengths. Victor is excessively affectionate with his fiancé on a good day, so _why_ , pray tell, would he be keeping his distance _now_?

_Go hug your sad boyfriend, idiot._

“Watching over him is all I can do, I’m afraid.” Victor pouted.

Yuri wondered just what kind of _remedies_ the great Nikiforov had attempted before coming to that conclusion.

“In all honesty, I haven’t learned of a way to protect him from this.”

 

_And what is ‘this’ exactly?_

Victor’s cheek fell into his open palm and he looked at Katsuki with such a _gross_ , lovesick expression that Yuri had to fight to keep his own face from cringing.

 

Then Victor spoke quietly, sounding almost like a sigh. “I trust that he’ll get though it in his own way, like he did before we met.”

 

And Yuri is suddenly taken aback by the notion that Katsuki has _always_ been like this. That he’s always had random days where he wakes up with that tortured expression on his face and has to struggle through his life.

 

Does it affect his skating? Is that what keeps him from winning competitions?

 

Did Yuri’s harsh insults ever-

 

Yuri grits his teeth and looks down at the ice. He _doesn’t_ care. Why should he? As long as Katsudon kept skating competitively then it didn’t matter.

 

_But what if this is what keeps Katsuki from skating his best?_

Yuri looks up at Victor again and is about to ask a question, but freezes when he realizes that Victor has gone stiff and the man’s brow was drawn together in concern.

 

Yuri’s eyes fly over to Katsudon immediately. There are two girls, _fans_ probably, leaning against the wall of the ice rink and waving dramatically towards the Japanese boy on the ice. They’re speaking in Russian and they’re trying to beckon the boy closer.

 

Katsuki looks up from his practice and his face looks so shockingly vulnerable that Yuri finds himself immediately rushing forward to put himself between the two girls and the lone skater.

 

“He doesn’t speak Russian.” Yuri said flatly as he slid to a halt in front of the fans. He ignored their looks of surprise and laid his arms over the wall, forcing them to back away from it. He was taller than them, especially with his skates on, and he used his height to block Katsuki from their view.

 

“English?” The shorter girl with brown hair and a scarf asks in a heavy accent.

 

“Doesn’t speak English either.” Yuri lied. “Tell me what you wanted to say and I’ll forward the message.”

 

The girls exchanged a look and the taller one with blonde hair and a red blouse angles her body to try and see past Yuri. Yuri simply moves with her to block the attempt, not caring how unwelcoming his behavior seemed.

 

“He just looks so _sad_ , we wanted to give him a hug to make him feel better.” She explained with a smile.

 

 _A hug isn’t going to make him feel better_. Yuri starts boiling with irritation.

 

He then backpedals and realizes that he had been mad a Victor for refusing to do _just that_. He thinks he understands now though, about why Victor was keeping his distance. Whatever was going on with Katsuki couldn’t be fixed by anyone other than Katsuki _himself_.

 

And if he wouldn’t accept a hug from Victor, then there’s _no way_ he’d accept one from two strangers.

 

“He’s really sick.” Yuri finds himself lying again. “It’s some awful disease he picked up in his home country, and it’s _highly_ contagious. Just take a look at his washed-up coach, it’s spreading pretty fast.”

 

Yuri points a thumb in Victor’s direction and sees the older man giving him a curious, albeit pleased expression.

 

The two girls look surprised and worried. “Oh goodness, I hope they’re alright!”

 

They tell Yuri to relay their concerns to the Japanese boy and his coach and he replies with a curt nod. He waits until they are out of sight before turning and looking at Katsuki again.

 

The dark haired skater has stopped in the middle of the ice. He’s just staring at the ground and Yuri fights the urge to yell at him or push him over just so he can see a different expression than what the boy is currently wearing.

 

_Why is he like this?_

 

Then Katsuki is lifting his head, face still as vulnerable as it was before and Yuri panics for a moment. _God, please don’t look at me_. Yuri had no idea what to say or even what face too make in reaction to Katsuki’s. His usual harsh greetings would definitely make things worse.

Luckily Katsudon looks up at Victor instead and the latter immediately leans over the rink with a water bottle in hand to welcome the boy closer.

 

Yuri waits till Japanese Yuuri meets Victor at the wall before following. He skates slowly in an attempt to go unnoticed then stops a few strides away, far enough to be discrete but close enough to view the couple clearly.

 

Victor is speaking softly, something about what the two were having for dinner as Katsuki wipes sweat from his brow and takes a drink of water. Victor doesn’t touch him but his movements are overtly gentle when he takes the bottle away and hands the boy a tissue.

 

Katsudon nods absentmindedly to Victor’s rambling and his movements are sluggish. His eyes are focusing too strongly on the wall to avoid eyes contact. _What’s he thinking about?_

 

Then, as Katsuki hands the balled up tissue back, Victor sees the shiny ring on the boy’s hand and leans over to plant a kiss over his fingers.

 

It was probably an impulse, judging by the way Victor immediately tenses and looks up at Katsuki’s face.

 

The other boy stares at Victor for a moment then his head bows, his eyes go glassy, his lip trembles a bit and-

 

_Oh, goddammit Victor you messed up! You fucking broke him you asshole! What the hell is wrong with you? You thick-skulled, ferret-looking, shriveled up old-_

Katsuki takes a deep breath and straightens his shoulders. The damn doesn’t break. the tears don’t fall. He gives Victor a watery, but truly _genuine_ smile and his right hand closes over Victor’s own.

 

Yuri releases the breath he didn’t realize he was holding and relaxes.

 

Victor eats up his fiancés response with vigor and presses several more kisses to the boy’s fingers, grinning widely. They murmur quietly to one another and Victor leans over to whisper something in Katsuki’s ear.

 

Yuri wonders what’s being said but then Katsudon turns and looks directly at Yuri in surprise.

 

Yuri stiffens. _Oh, shit._

 

He’s still staring. His expression is guarded. Should Yuri say something?

 

_Don’t insult him, don’t insult him, don’t insult him-_

“Hey, pork cutlet bowl, you better be practicing your new program if you ever want a chance at gold!”

In his panic, Yuri ended up spitting the words out in a much harsher manner then he intended. He flinched. _Crap._

However, Katsuki doesn’t bat an eye.

 

“I’m looking forward to it.” Yuri says, quieter this time. “So, don’t disappoint me.”

 

Yuri awkwardly scratched at his elbow and scowled at his feet.

 

He chanced another look at Katsuki and found the boy smiling gently at him.

 

“I’ll try my best.” Katsuki replied with a surprisingly strong voice.

 

Yuri nodded. The panicked feeling he’d been struggling with since his rival first entered the ice rink quickly subsided. With satisfaction, he skated away from the couple and resumed his practice.

 

He kept an eye on Katsuki from afar as both athletes skated to their heart’s content.

 

Katsudon was still skating in loops but he no longer kept his head down.

 

Yuri still didn’t know what was wrong with the Japanese boy, but he didn’t really care that much about the specifics. Or at least, he didn’t _need_ to know them.

 

It’s just something he’d have to accept.

 

Sometimes Yuuri Katsuki hangs on by a string and there's nothing Yuri can do to keep the string from breaking.

 

 

But next time it sways…maybe he can help keep it steady.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!
> 
> (sorry for any grammar or spelling errors, i didn't have a proof-reader)
> 
> I'm thinking about writing a fic where Yuuri gets injured on the ice and Yuri and Victor freak out a bit. I'm open to ideas ;)


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